Canyon Springs girls hold off Wildcats
Canyon Springs' girls haven't had much practice protecting a lead.
A lack of success for much of the basketball program's history hasn't allowed the Pioneers many leads to protect.
On Friday in Silverado's Turkey Tournament, Canyon Springs might have experienced a before and after.
Twice early in the day the Pioneers saw leads slip away against Durango and Liberty.
But in bracket play Friday night, Canyon Springs finally put one away, holding off Northeast League rival Las Vegas High, 49-48.
"We're where I hoped we would be," second-year coach Analese Alvarez said. "Obviously, we'd rather win games, but we want to be competitive in every game."
And that hasn't been a regular occurrence for the Pioneers, who won just one game two years ago and finished 7-18 last season.
"We have a lot of returning players, which is something Canyon Springs hasn't had very often," Alvarez said. "We're still young, still learning, but games like these absolutely help."
Against the Wildcats, Canyon Springs saw a 36-25 lead cut to 36-33 midway through the second half.
The Pioneers fought through that, extending their lead to 48-40 on consecutive baskets by Diamond Broadus.
But panic set in during the final two minutes with the Pioneers committing four turnovers and allowing the Wildcats to get within 48-46.
A free throw by Faith Harper moved the lead back to three with less than a minute to play.
Las Vegas hit two free throws to close within one and had the ball with 11 seconds left, but the Pioneers used a defensive stand to preserve the win.
"The experience from last year and realizing we can beat these teams will help us," Alvarez said. "We're making the playoffs this year."
Pearl Paulo led the Pioneers with 12 points.
Shomari Harris had 14 points and Shawntonia Luckie 13 for Las Vegas.
In pool play, Canyon Springs led Durango 35-21 before the Pioneers panicked on offense and the Trailblazers scored the final 15 points for a 36-35 victory.
Canyon Springs led Liberty 30-26 at the half before the Patriots rallied for a 55-51 victory.
Contact reporter Bartt Davis at bdavis@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5230.
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FRIDAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
BOYS
Spring Valley's Trey Whitley and Anton Stallworth each scored seven points in the fourth quarter as the Grizzlies outscored Del Sol 20-4 to earn a 59-43 road win.
GIRLS
Desert Pines' LaBrea Walker had games of 13, 30 and 30 points as the Jaguars won two of three games in the Turkey Tournament at Silverado.
Green Valley's Sarah Pickus scored 25 and 20 points, and Jasmine Jarvis added 21 and 26 points as the Gators swept their two games in the Turkey Tournament at Silverado.
